Where Has Mummy Gone?

by Cathy Glass

  Amanda vents her anger at Cathy at contact. Why? And what, if anything, could the Family Centre staff have done to defuse the situation?

  Discuss the possible short- and long-term effects of a parent not attending contact.

  From readers’ comments on Cathy’s website and social media, many readers feel they are there with Cathy and her family as part of the story. Discuss how the narrative achieves this?

  Discuss the role of a LAC (Looked After Child) review. Would you make any changes to improve them?

  After Amanda is sectioned under the Mental Health Act, Cathy pushes for Melody to have contact with her again. Was she right to do so? Are there any indications later in the book that she might have regretted it? How beneficial was contact at the care home for Melody and her mother?

  When contact is reduced in preparation for Melody’s move to her adoptive mother, Cathy continues to see Amanda. What are her reasons?

  Discuss the timetable of introduction for the move. Would you change anything?

  When Melody has reservations about a ‘forever family’, Lucy, speaking from her heart, reassures her and says, ‘You want to be like all the other kids at school.’ What insight does Lucy offer?

  Cathy says Melody and Dana are a match ‘made in heaven’. What can they both bring to their relationship?

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, ON, M5H 4E3, Canada

  http://www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India

  http://www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  www.harpercollins.com